2012 Geely LC 1.3 GT

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We try our luck in the 2012 Geely LC 1.3 GT

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Cuteness for the masses

Published in Weekend Witness Motoring on Saturday March 17, 2012

Some names are well chosen. Geely (pronounced Jeely) means “auspicious” or “lucky” in Mandarin Chinese. The company’s founder and present chairman, Li Shufu, would probably agree. He borrowed money from his family in 1988 to open a refrigerator factory. During 1994 he diversified into motorcycles by taking over an ailing state-run company. In 1997 he started producing vans under the banner: “To build good cars that ordinary people can afford.”

By 2001, his company was producing cars, with its initial public offering on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange following in 2004. It now lays claim to being the largest privately owned car manufacturer in China and owns part of the company that manufactures London Cabs, all of an Australian automatic transmission company and, of course, Volvo.

Our test car was the Geely LC (Panda in China and other Eastern countries) 1.3 GT, top of a range of three available here. It does have a very cute, Panda-like front view, but the name could not be used in the West because Fiat owns it. Critics reckon it looks very much like Toyota’s Aygo, but Geely insists that it’s entirely homegrown.

South African offerings range in price from R85 000 to R95 000. All use a 1342 cc, DOHC, 16-valve, four-cylinder engine developing 63 kW of power and 110 Nm of torque. A five-speed manual gearbox transfers power to the front wheels. Differences lie only in specification, with the GT offering ABS with EBD, power windows front and rear, fog lamps front and rear, electrically operated wing mirrors, radio and CD unit with USB socket, rear window wiper, air conditioner, remote central locking, alloy wheels and rear parking assistance. It even has a fire extinguisher. How many airbags? Six – you heard me – six.

A car offering all that for R95 000 must be dreadful, right? Not at all. It isn’t perfect, but it’s certainly livable. For example, a few exterior panels don’t have even gaps, some interior trim looks a bit sketchy and the glossy black plastic dash- and door switch parts are very lightweight.

It has its little quirks. Starting from the back, the hatch has to be unlocked separately from the doors and requires use of either one big hand or two little ones, because you need to push a button and lift the handle at the same time. This reveals a wee rectangular box of a boot measuring 144 dm3 with the rear seatbacks upright or 832 dm3 with them folded. These lie down flat once you have taken off the head restraints, but leave a slight step in the load floor. So do many others, by the way. The Nissan 370Z Roadster makes do with even less boot space, so don’t feel bad. The spare is a fully sized steel item.

Rear seat legroom and headspace is good for a sub-mini car, with the SA Standard Tall Passenger allocating seven points for each. Foot space gets a solid ten, but the driver’s chair doesn’t adjust vertically, does it? Two seatbelts and a pair of head restraints are fitted.

Something I have not found on other cars is that the fabric seat covers can be unzipped and presumably removed for laundering. Practical, these Chinese. In front, one finds the seats utilitarian rather than sporty, being rather flat and firm without side support. But it is just a little city car without any racing inclination after all. Another point is that there is only one colour combination for upholstery - a serviceable-looking black and tan.

Storage space within the cabin consists of an assortment of little trays and slots and possibly the oddest glove box I have seen. Reasonably wide but only about twelve centimetres deep from front to back, its lid is a sideways-sliding roller door. The owner’s guide and the service booklet pretty much fill it. Did I say something about little quirks, earlier?

It drives nicely. There is some resonance in the exhaust at low speed and the engine is not the quietest ever built, but we are talking about basic transport after all. For a naturally aspirated 1300, it goes quite well as long as you don’t expect miracles. Not much happens until the revs ease above 3000, but that’s normal for a little motor. The gearbox shifts quickly and easily, the ratios are well spaced and it’s nimble. Vision outward is good and you can fit it into parking spaces easily.

This little Geely has all the safety and convenience items anyone really wants and it does its job very effectively. The price is good too, so what more does your average city-dweller need?

Notes for the not-so-sureParts availability: There is a 1000 m2 parts warehouse in Roodepoort, carrying approximately R10 million-worth of stock and manned by a staff of five. The first-pick rate is over 90 percent, with importation time for anything else being between two and four weeks. Dealers keep all normal service parts. Most likely collision damage parts are freely available within 48 hours, countrywide.Sales and service dealers: There are presently 41 dealers countrywide, including one in Port Shepstone, with others to be appointed in Durban (CBD), Empangeni, Newcastle, Pinetown and Pietermaritzburg.Get updates from: www.geelysa.co.za

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